A couple of candles and flowers decorate the Dick Clark mural on Glendale Boulevard, under the Sunset Bridge, in Echo Park.
Thinking about bringing home a new best friend? You’re in luck!
Fur Baby Rescue is hosting an all-breed adoption event at BlueCollar in Echo Park on Sunday, April 22 from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm.
Fur Baby Rescue is a non-profit, no-kill shelter located in Downtown LA. BlueCollar is located at 1533 Echo Park Avenue.
Hipsters rejoice! Tomorrow is the annual Record Store Day – where independently owned record stores across the country celebrate music with special vinyl and CD releases. Echo Park’s Origami Vinyl and Mono Records are participating this year with some special events of their own:
Origami Vinyl
Open at 8:00 am with coffee and snacks from Stories Books & Cafe. Shoppers will be allowed in ten at a time, and the first 300 people get an Origami Vinyl/Generic Surplus Record Store Day tote bag free with purchase. They’ll also have some more special give-aways, and you even go to The Echo patio to listen to your purchases or check in your bag at the “vinyl valet” while you enjoy the show.
Starting at noon on The Echo patio will be eight bands and guest DJs – but if you can’t make it to the show check out the live stream at radio.magicmonsterrecords.com. Bands include:
Big Black Delta @ 7:00 pm
Henry Clay People @ 6:00 pm
Electric Guest @ 5:00 pm
Races @ 4:00 pm
Zammuto @ 3:00 pm
Electric Flower Group @ 2:00 pm
Jenny O @ 1:00 pm
All Tiny Creatures @ Noon
Guest DJs spinning in Origami Vinyl:
Jason Kramer from KCRW
Shaun Koplow from Anticon
Jason from Dub Club/Punky Reggae
Matt & Patrick from Light in the Attic
Alyssa Bailey from KXLU
Angela Asistio from KXSC
Jen Ferrer from KXSC
Cristina Ramirez from KXLU
Chris Ziegler from LA Record
Check out the store’s Facebk page for more info.
Mono Records
This will be a great opportunity to finally get our butts over to the new Glendale Boulevard record store, which just opened a few months ago. They’ll have the STAX “Flipside of Stax” 45 boxes available, and of course a sale: All wax under $10 is 20% off, over $10 is 15% off the entire day. Store opens at 10:00 am.
There are a ton of other Los Angeles record store locations celebrating the day, check out LAist for the details.
There are a lot of things going on at the Echo Park and Edendale Library branches, click here for a review of ongoing classes and events. But there are a lot of other great things happening in the next couple of months that we try to keep up on, including:
Poetry Collage program at Edendale Branch Library
The “Words That Inspire Poetry Collage Program” takes place on on Thursday, May 19 at 5:30-7:00 pm.
Teens are invited to discover the voices of diverse poets, and create their own collage of words and images. This event celebrates National Poetry Month at the Los Angeles Public Libraries. Email wickedlovelyfilms@gmail.com
Edendale Branch LA Public Library is located at 2011 W. Sunset Blvd.
LACMA art classes at the Echo Park Library
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and the Echo Park Library are providing free family art classes every Thursday evening from 4:00-5:00 pm. LACMA professionals will be on hand to help you find your inner Picasso! For more information, please contact the Echo Park Library at (213) 250-7808.
GED on Wheels at Edendale Branch Library
Every Thursday from 2:30-4:30 pm at Edendale Branch Library.
MFN is a non-profit organization that works to empower local residents with educational tools for economic success. Our goal is to help as many high school dropouts become college and career ready so they will have the ability to earn a sustainable living wage. On January 14, 2012, MFN launched GED on Wheels (SM) at the Edendale Branch Library. GED on Wheels (SM) is a free mobile GED service and we provide TABE Tests, Official GED OPTs, and workshops on the GED Essay or GED Math. The GED can be the first step to new found personal success. Students prepare to succeed by learning helpful test taking strategies and becoming familiar with the format of the GED Test. They review and evaluate their abilities in English, Reading, and math. Instruction on the use of the Casio FX 260 Calculator is also included. Although this workshop is not intended as a substitute for an all inclusive GED Program, it can serve as an indicator of your their needs. The workshop is 2 hours.
This event is free and open to the public. Our program complements the library goals and interest of adult education in the community.
Free Drama West performances at Edendale Library
Drama West is presenting another wonderful and free series of original one-act play readings at Edendale Library on Saturday, April 21 from 2-4:00 pm. For more information, please call the library at 213-207-3000.
Apparently a lot!
Glendale Boulevard at Berkeley is getting a new 7-11, and a presentation at the last week’s neighborhood council Planning & Land Use Committee revealed plans for another location at Alvarado Street and Beverly Boulevard. The map above is a screenshot of several 7-11 stores in Echo Park and the immediate area, with the purple dots showing locations for the twonew stores.
The Beverly Boulevard and Alvarado Street 7-11 location will be part of a larger demolition and rebuild of a service station at 2041 Beverly Boulevard. It sounds like the state of the existing building is pretty bad, and could use a serious boost. But even committee members at the Planning & Land Use meeting asked if there would be alternative vendors other than 7-11, especially since there’s one on Beverly Boulevard just down the road. A quick search on the franchise’s website for our zip code, and there are at least six 7-11 stores within a two mile radius (not including the new ones).
However, it looks like the deal is done, and the property owners have already negotiated the establishment of a 7-11 store at the revamped location. But permits still need to be granted, and the neighborhood council has asked for hours of beer and wine sales to be reduced just as the Glendale Boulevard location has done.
Time is running out to purchase your tickets to the Elysian Heights Elementary School Family Fun night!
In N Out burger will be serving up your pre-purchased meals at the school on Monday, April 23 at 6:00 pm as part of a fund raiser benefiting the 6th grade field trip to Catalina Island Marine Institute – a trip that costs about $7,500.
But it’s worth every penny – once in middle school myself, my 8th grade class took a similar trip and it was one of my best experiences growing up. A lot of kids never leave their neighborhood, and the trip is an educational program providing them with hands-on marine biology and island ecology lessons. They’ll get to hike around the island, snorkel, experience marine fish and wildlife, pet a shark, and even do a plankton tow along with dolphin excursions.
The cost of the trip includes the student’s camp fee, all activities, all meals, Catalina Express transportation, lodging, teacher chaperones, and supplies. 75% funds realized from this event will directly support the field trip. The remaining 25% of the funds go to the IN-N-OUT Child Abuse Foundation.
Tickets for the Family Night are $6 and gets you burger, chips, and a soft drink. There will be a demonstration by the students at 6:15 pm in the auditorium. Dinner will be at the school from 5-6:00 pm.
Get your tickets today! Tickets are only available until noon tomorrow, and can be picked up no later than noon on April 18 in the school office.
If you are unable to attend, but would you or your company would like to make a tax-deductible donation, please contact the school office at 323.665.6315
Instagram photo via applesauce9mm
Echo Parkians who crave the late-night diner food at The Brite Spot are out of luck for a couple of more days – filming continues on Stand Up Guys, a comedy starting Christopher Walken and Al Pacino. The Daily Mail describes the film as a comedy where “the legendary duo have come together to play ageing criminals on one last nefarious bender, with the tasty twist that one has been hired to kill the other.”
Al Pacino and Christopher Walken sitings in Echo Park have been hitting Twitter, and we have to admit wanting to catch glimpse of the super stars ourselves. As our Twitter follower Marc Vieira tells us of catching Al Pacino, “Definitely my celebrity sighting highlight.”
The Brite Spot will reopen on Thursday, April 19 at 7:00 am.
Follow us on Twitter for film notifications when they come in.
The Echo Park Chamber Of Commerce is hosting a Spring Mixer on Thursday, April 19, 2011 at 7:00 pm.
Join fellow business-owners in Echo Park at the event at Taix Restaurant, bring your business cards to network and your happy faces!
We’ve suffered through Lotus Festivals without dragon-boat races, and the past few years without the lotus blossoms themselves – but a Lotus Festival with no lake?
Planned for July 14-15, this will mark the 34th Lotus Festival in Echo Park – the past couple of years have been “scaled back” versions of the festival (it was canceled completely in 2009). We didn’t expect to have on in 2011, until plans to start the Echo Park Lake rehabilitation project were pushed back until later that year and the fest went on.
This year’s Lotus Festival will not be held at the lake, which is currently empty and completely gated up during construction. Instead, the parking lots between Echo Park Avenue and Lemoyne, south of Sunset Boulevard, will serve as the grounds. This will definitely be a “scaled back” version of the event.
The details aren’t finalized, but one thing’s for sure – there won’t be any Dragon Boat races!
It’s Coachella time, so expect a LOT of shows between the event’s two weekend shows.
For the week of Monday, April 16 through Sunday, April 22
Monday
Ghiant, Kim Deal, David Mayfield Parade, Driftwood Singers At Outpost
KXLU and KSPC present Monday Night Residency: So Many Wizards, Wildcat! Wildcat!, Magick Orchids, Jon Barba @ Echo
Atari Teenage Riot, Otto Van Schirach, DJs Emu and Steady (Smog), Outer Source Rebellion @ Echoplex
Open Mic Night @ Tribal Cafe
The John Francis @ Origami Vinyl
Karaoke @ Lot 1 Café
Grace Woodroofe, A House for Lions, Miracle Days, Brandon & Leah @ Bootleg Bar
Religious Girls, Radio Shock, Realization Orchestra, Kyle Mabson DJ set @ Pehrspace
Motown Mondays @ The Short Stop
Tuesday
Neon Indian, Housse De Racket, Friends @ Echoplex
We Were Promised Jetpacks, Chasing Kings, Tristen @ Echo
Wednesday
Wild Beasts, Superhumanoids @ Echo
Dub Club & Delicious Vinyl present: Marlon Asher @ Echoplex
Open Mic Night @ Tribal Cafe
Live Jazz every Wednesday night at 7:00 pm @ Downbeat Café
Emeli Sande, Coco Morier, The Child, The Donnies The Amys @ Bootleg Bar
Monika Santucci @ Taix Lounge
Thursday
The Big Pink, Io Echo, Ko Ko @ Echo
School of Seven Bells, Exitmusic, Tashaki Miyaki @ Echoplex
Open Mic Night @ Tribal Cafe
CUBITS @ Lot 1 Café
Heywood, Vs Colour, Frank Lenz, Kim Free @ Bootleg Bar
The Cerny Brothers @ Taix Lounge
Friday
Lemonade, Bachelorette, DJ Ras Coco, DJ Blake Miller @ Echo
Bearracuda @ Echoplex
Kazha @ Tribal Cafe
The Mummy Jamboree @ Lot 1 Café
The Peach Kings @ Bootleg Bar
Starving Daughters, + TBA @ Pehrspace
Viki Hill, Creekbird @ Taix Lounge
Saturday
Bootie LA @ Echoplex
Funky Sole @ Echo
Wakarimaren @ Tribal Cafe
Record Store Day @ Origami Vinyl
The Ukulady & Friendsies PARTYShowFUN (free kids’ show) at 3:00 pm @ Lot 1 Café
Thurlow, Steffaloo, Rene Breton @ Bootleg Bar
Heroes and Heroines @ Pehrspace
La Picante @ Los Globos
Sunday
Grand Ole Echo @ Echo
Rum & Humble And Echo Present: The TourЀ-Raichel Collective featuring Vieux Farka Touré, Idan Raichel, Souleymane Kane and Amit Carmeli @ Echoplex
Part Time Punks Presents: Soft Metals, Silent Diane, Grapefruit @ Echo
Open Mic Night @ Tribal Cafe
French Toast Comedy @ Taix Lounge
Super Soul Sunday @ The Short Stop
Visit the venue websites for more information on the cost and times of shows. Feel free to add more events in the comment section. All events listed are subject to change at any time, and new events announced for the week after this posting may not be included. Visit our Weekly Events page for more neighborhood events, shows and specials.
Echo Park student Jackson Huang at CicLAvia (wearing the white shirt and white cap)
Jackson Huang is Echo Park’s newest bicycling activist – at 13 years old (soon to be 14), he’s taken up a cause that will be beneficial to the neighborhood and beyond.
Jackson, who also happens to be our neighbor, gained some notoriety recently with a letter he wrote to Councilmember Ed Reyes (CD1) after his class at Nightingale Middle School in Cypress Park was visited by CicLAvia and Flying Pigeon LA Bike Shop representatives. The visit taught kids about bicycling, including how to fix a flat and stay safe, but also inspired the kids to write letters encouraging politicians to support a new bike plan that would lead directly to the school. Jackson’s letter reads:
The LA City bike Plan of 2010 states that bicycle lanes of Ave 28 and Cypress Ave will be added. The reason why we need bike lanes is because there are kids in this area that are overweight or obese. Kids can get exercise while riding their bikes home and lessening the risk of obesity.
Councilmember Reyes responded (quote via The Eastsider LA):
I grew up riding my bicycle in Lincoln Heights and Cypress Park and agree that bicycle lanes are critical for the health and safety of our neighborhoods. I have been working very hard with City staff and community members like you to ensure that the 2010 Bicycle Plan is implemented as quickly as possible.
Jackson and his bike team were amongst the 100,000 participants in yesterday’s CicLAvia event in Downtown Los Angeles, where the city announced the new Los Angeles Bike-Sharing program, which will allocate 4,000 bicycles to 400 kiosks around the city for everyone with $6 (the daily charge) to use. Even though Ed Reyes’ office hasn’t provided a date when the bike plan will be implemented, Jackson isn’t discouraged, telling us:
I feel like he [Reyes] is doing a great job in helping us get bike lanes and bridge project because it is safer to go on the bridge than going around to get to the LA river route.
And the council wants kids to be safe, right? We’re proud of our young neighbors who are getting involved and taking action!
Check out Jackson’s letter below!
Published today on our sister website, Atwater Village Now
Normally for tax season, we’d be heading to the H&R Bloc next to 55 Degree Wine for some yearly tax preparation. Last night, we went to the same spot, but to drink beer!
Located in the former H&R Bloc in a small strip mall off of Glendale Boulevard, Links N Hops is a warm, rustic, pub-style restaurant. And through the kitchen aromas, it still smells a little like sawdust – 55 Degree Wine owner Andy Hasroun had a soft opening just a couple of days ago, after battling the city’s parking permit issues.
But unlike a lot of restaurant openings we have been to, there weren’t any hiccups or kinks to work out – the staff was knowledgeable, the food came out promptly, and the atmosphere was just right.
Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer
The food – oh, the food – best vegan dog I’ve had in a long time. Meals come out of the kitchen in baskets, served on a metal kitchen tray. I ordered the Frankfurter (organic tofu, onion, tomato, apple cider, paprika) with an entire roasted Jalapeno and sauteed onions, my dinner date ordered the Spicy Italian (pork, onions, fennel, red pepper flakes) with onions. Required for this type of dining are Belgian Fries with a side of spicy ketchup (other options include dijon mustard, 1000 island, or ranch). Mustard and ketchup readily available, we dug in without a second thought. The bread is perfectly toasted, and unbelievably fresh – it came from a local bakery, completely hand made, and made only for Links N Hops. It makes you realize the hot dogs or sausages you’ve had before were overpowered by heavy, thick bread – not this time!
Beer choices are well-rounded, with 23 beers on tap (and room for growth – they will soon have more). Local favorites include Golden Road Brewery’s IPA, but international choices like La Chouffe Belgian Pale (so good) and lots of other California faves like North Coast Brewing’s Scrimshaw Pilsner. I’m also a sucker for Ellie’s Brown from Avery Brewing (Colorado), which matched perfectly with a really cold night and a basket of delicious sausages.
The only regret I had after leaving is that we didn’t order more Belgian Fries!
Other menu items include Andouille, Turkey Mole, BBQ Pork, Chinese Roast Pork, Spicy Italian, Hot Smoked Chicken, Wild Boar with Marsala, Pheasant with Cognac, and Rabbit with Wine for meat eaters. Andy told us he really wants to focus a lot on vegan options as well, and the current menu has some great options: Frankfurter, Beerbrat, Smoked Apple, Vegan Italian, and Spicy Pepper (really spicy, fyi!). Don’t skip out on those fries!
Links N Hops is open daily for lunch and dinner, from 11 am to midnight Sunday through Thursday, and 11 am to 1 am on Saturdays. If you’re in a rush for lunch, they do offer take-away!
Location is 3111 Glendale Blvd., Ste. C, Los Angeles, CA 90039
Check out the restaurant’s Facebook page for more info.
Flickr photo via Carlos Ontivero
Hello Dodger Stadium, and WOW. This amazing shot came up on Flickr tonight from Elysian Park. Bravo Carlos, bravo.
Photo Credit: Daniel O'Connell
Sticking around Echo Park this weekend instead of roughing it up at Coachella?
There’s a brand new salon in town that wants to celebrate its opening with you – Folklore Salon just opened up its doors on Mohawk Street near Sunset Boulevard. They are kicking it off with a block party on Saturday, April 14 from -8:00 pm, with all the neighbors!
Participating businesses will be offering up discounts in support of the event, including: Spit Fire Girl, Gentlemen’s Breakfast, Myrtle (drinks & snacks, 20% off store), 8 Limbs, The Hedgehog (formerly the Coffee Pot), Kelly Green, DeKore, Iam8bit, Lux DeVille. The SweetBeats Truck will be serving up beats and ice cream on the corner, so you can’t miss it!
Congrats on the opening!
If you’re not the superstitious type, and you live to save a buck, and you’re down for some ink, head to El Clasico Tattoo. Today is Friday the 13th, so you can get a pre-designed tattoo for just 13 bucks.
What does a $13 Friday the 13th tattoo look like? How about a spooky black cat, an evil eye, a third eye, or a bicycle?
El Clasico Tattoo is located at 1610 Sunset Blvd. in Echo Park.